Comfort and Joy
by HarvestBeauty
Summary: Larry and Terri share a cozy moment in front of a fireplace.


_A/N: I initially wanted to write a story celebrating the winter season all about Larry and Terri playing together in the snow, but then I was listening to Christmas music in order to get into the mood of the story, and my favorite Christmas song came on and then the story took a more serious, spiritual and romantic turn. Oh well. Enjoy Larry and Terri's little Hallmark Christmas movie moment! This little story is going to mark a change in my focus...for the most part, the stories I write from now on will be romantic Larry/Terri. I'm super excited for the change...and also a bit nervous. I've already got tons of story ideas for these two and lots of plans...a whole, big story arc. I'll be slowing down quite a bit on story production too. The ideas I have will take a ton of time and energy to write._

"Terri, I can't feel my fingers..." Larry grunted in pain.

Terri snickered, breathing onto her hands to try to warm them up through her gloves. She felt strange...almost as if she was drunk, even though she was totally sober. She had been feeling that way a lot lately, and she wasn't sure if it was the holiday season doing it to her or if maybe it was Larry's overall cheerfulness rubbing off on her.

"Neither can I..." She admitted.

The potential frostbite they had received had been well worth it. Terri felt like she'd just taken a trip back into her childhood. Jack, Janet, herself and Larry had taken a holiday vacation and were staying in a cozy little cabin up in the mountains. The sparkling white powder blanketing the landscape was too seductive for Larry to resist...he had missed the New York winters he experienced growing up. Terri, being a fellow East Coaster herself from Massachusetts, could not agree more. His excitement was contagious as he raced outside to enjoy it and Terri, to her surprise, found herself following him. Larry, not surprisingly, engaged her in a snowball fight. After Terri kicked his butt in the snowball fight (although, Larry insisted that he let her win) the two had spent that whole day frolicking in the snow. They built snowmen...Larry had made his a snow_woman_, complete with double D boobs. They had gone sledding. Afterwards, Terri wanted to go skating on a local pond and Larry eagerly agreed with her, so they (stupidly) decided to walk to the nearby pond, only to find it closed off due to safety concerns because the ice wasn't thick enough for people to stand on it. So Larry and Terri were forced to make the long trek back to the cabin. Terri and Larry were so cold, it was painful, but it was also so much fun...it was the first real winter they had experienced in years, having both been spoiled by the sunny California weather.

"I'm serious, I can't lift my arm..." Larry complained.

Giggling lightly, Terri knocked on the cabin door. Even before she had finished knocking, the door flew open and they were met with a very concerned looking Janet.

"Where have you two been?!" Janet demanded. "We were so worried about you guys! You know it's almost dark outside?"

"Woah..." Jack remarked, coming up behind Janet. "You guys look like human popsicles..."

Janet and Jack ushered their white, stiff and snowcovered friends inside. Janet started helping Terri out of her cold, wet jacket and Jack did the same for Larry.

"You know, J-Janet..." Larry stammered, barely able to get the words out because he was so cold. Nevertheless, he couldn't help himself. "If you want to undress me i-instead of J-Jack, I-I-I certainly won't m-mind..."

"Larry, I think we need to get you warmed up." Instead of being offended, Janet smiled sympathetically.

Larry smiled. That's just what he was thinking.

After Larry and Terri had been freed of their jackets, gloves, boots and snowcaps, Janet and Jack had lead them both over to the living room area, sitting them down on the sofa together in front of the fireplace. Janet had draped a huge, soft blue blanket over the both of them.

"Thank you, Janet!" Terri smiled at her. "How thoughtful of you."

"Yeah, it's so c-cozy. Thank you so m-much." Larry added.

"Jack, you go get some more firewood and I'll get them some hot chocolate." Janet spoke to her friend.

"Right." Jack nodded before hurrying off.

"And this is why I don't miss the winters in Indiana..." Janet muttered to herself as she went into the kitchen. "Give me California warmth anyday."

Larry and Terri were left shivering under the blanket for a moment. Larry scooted over in order to be closer to her, and Terri regarded him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Body heat." Larry explained. "We n-need to huddle t-together for warmth."

"Yeah, sure." Terri smirked, but she didn't move away. She told herself it was because she was concerned about him and wanted to warm him up.

Janet returned moments later with a mug of hot chocolate for each of them. Freeing their arms from the blanket, Larry and Terri each took their mug of hot chocolate from Janet, thanking her in appreciation.

"I'm going to go find some sweaters for you guys." Janet informed them, before disappearing into one of the bedrooms to see what she could rustle up.

Terri sipped from her mug gracefully, but Larry was still shaking so hard that he ended up spilling hot chocolate onto his fingers.

"O-_ouch_!" He stuttered, hissing in pain.

"Are you okay?" Terri laughed, cringing a little bit. She grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. He took it and cleaned up the mess.

"I'll let you know when I can think again." Larry answered her. "Forget a brain freeze, I feel like I have a whole body freeze."

"I thought you said you couldn't feel your fingers?" Terri teased.

"Well, I could feel _that_." Larry chuckled. "Almost scalded my hand. At least I'm warming up finally."

"Good." Terri smiled at him. She was glad he could finally speak without stuttering...she was getting a bit worried about him for a moment. "You know, that's why I keep reminding you...you really need to start putting some meat on those bones. You should go into the kitchen and eat some of those Christmas cookies that Jack baked last night."

"Oh?" Larry raised his eyebrows, looking her up and down. "And what about you? Look who's talking."

Terri just smiled. It's true, she had been freezing minutes ago. Her jaw was quivering and she had a slight tremor to her voice, but she still hadn't been in as bad of shape as Larry had been. She had been seriously worried that he was starting to show signs of hypothermia.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Terri replied. "So thank you."

"It _was _a compliment." Larry answered her with a cheeky grin. "And you're very welcome."

The two of them fell silent for a few moments, enjoying their hot chocolate and peering into the fireplace. Terri's eyes drifted to the Christmas tree to the right of the fireplace that they had decorated the night before. She was mesmerized by the twinkling lights and sparkling tinsel. It was a real tree and its heavenly pine scent brought back so many sweet memories for her. She started thinking back to her childhood...to decorating the family Christmas tree as a child and to candlelight services in church.

"Larry?" She spoke up quietly.

"Hmmm?" He responded, a peaceful smile on his face as he was being warmed by the fire's glow.

"Do you believe in God?" She asked him. She knew it was a deeply personal question to ask of Larry, but she was sort of curious about his thoughts on the matter. Plus, it was the holiday season...she couldn't help but think about spiritual matters.

Larry was silent as he thought about the question. Terri hoped she hadn't offended him. She opened her mouth to apologize, when Larry finally spoke up.

"My mother belongs to the Greek Orthodox Christian Church, and my father was Jewish. Technically, I'm not Jewish because it is matrilineal and passed through the mother, but I do like to hang onto the old Jewish traditions as a way of keeping my father alive." Larry said softly.

Terri just stared at him. As far as she knew, he was the only one out of the four of them who had lost a parent. She wondered how and why he'd lost his father so young, but she didn't feel it was her place to ask him that. She sympathized with him...she couldn't imagine losing her parents.

"Anyway, my siblings and I were raised in both traditions...Jewish and Christian. I kind of like to play around with both, but I don't really belong to either camp. And it's really only for special occasions and holidays. I mostly do it because it reminds me of family, but it's always in private and by myself, since I like to dabble a little bit in both worlds...it's one heck of a combination. Do I believe though? I don't know. Sometimes really awful things happen that make me question the whole thing, but I have hope. I mean, it's a really nice thought. I'd like to believe and I guess I'm open to it..." Larry cut himself off, embarrassed a bit by his rambling. "Do you believe?"

"Yes, I do." Terri was thoughtful. She stared into the fireplace and smiled to herself. She never thought she'd be having such a deep and personal conversation with the guy who had built a snowwoman with snow boobs a few hours ago. As much as she loved how playful and lighthearted Larry was most of the time, she was also intrigued by his more serious side that she'd caught glimpses of over the past few months. It made her want to learn more about him.

"That's good." Larry smiled at her.

"So, what's your favorite Christmas song?" Terri asked him, trying to switch to a lighter topic, while still keeping it seasonal.

Larry bit his bottom lip and his eyes sparkled as he stared into the fireplace. He appeared to be thinking about the question she had just asked him. Terri was truly shocked by what he did next. He answered her in song rather than just telling her straight up. The song that he began singing also really took her by surprise. It was one of her favorite Christmas carols, but she didn't expect it to come from Larry. She had really pegged him as a It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year kind of guy, but instead he began singing slowly and very sweetly in complete acapella.

"_What child is this, who laid to rest_

_On Mary's lap, is sleeping?_

_Whom angels greet with anthems sweet_

_While shepherds watch, are keeping?_

_This, this is Christ the King_

_Whom shepherds guard and angels sing_

_Haste, haste to bring Him laud_

_The babe, the son of Mary..."_

Terri got chills, and not because she was cold. There was a calming, soothing quality to Larry's tone. Larry looked straight ahead into the fire as he continued.

"_So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh_

_Come peasant king to own him_

_The King of Kings, salvation brings_

_Let loving hearts enthrone Him_

_Raise, raise a song on high_

_The virgin sings a lullaby_

_Joy, joy for Christ is born_

_The babe, the son of Mary..."_

At some point, Larry had turned his attention away from the fire and was now looking directly at her. As he finished singing, Terri felt short of breath. Her heart pounded in her chest. The combination of the maturity Larry was showing her tonight, along with the haunting and evocative song he had just sang to her made something in her stomach feel kind of funny, but not in a bad way. She wondered in the back of her mind where Janet and Jack had gone off to, but she was also glad for the privacy. The silence in the room almost made Terri's ears ring.

It couldn't have been more than ten seconds after Larry had finished singing when Terri leaned forward and kissed Larry impulsively. Larry gasped slightly in shock before closing his eyes and kissing her back softly, tenderly. For him, it was as if the Northern Lights had exploded behind his closed eyelids. As their lips moved together, Larry made a quiet, breathy noise of pleasure. The sound went straight through Terri like an electric shock and Terri pulled away, fearing she would jump on Larry right there and then if she didn't stop.

"What was that for?" Larry breathed. He opened his eyes, the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"You just took my breath away..." Terri answered him. "And I wanted to return the favor."

"Oh..." Larry's face broke out into a huge grin. He made a mental note to sing to Terri more often. "Well, Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah to me!"

"And a Happy New Year!" Terri added, smiling at him before going in for another kiss.

THE END

_A/N: Sorry for the corniness! LOL! I've been watching too many Hallmark Christmas movies! This fic was inspired by Mitch Fewell's version of What Child Is This on YouTube. One of the most haunting versions of the song I've ever heard._


End file.
